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Devine, George Denis (1847–1926)

Memoirs of the Kelly gang of bushrangers are recalled by the death of Mr. George Denis Devine, aged 79 years, whose funeral took place to-day. Mr. Devine was a sergeant of police in February, 1879, when Ned Kelly, Dan Kelly, Steve Hart, and Joe Byrne entered Jerilderie, on the New South Wales side of the Murray River, and imprisoned Devine and his assisting constable. Donning the policemen's uniforms next day and inspecting the town as relieving officers from Sydney, they took possession of the principal hotel, and the following day everyone who entered was made prisoner. They then robbed the Bank of New South Wales of about £2,000, and, after cutting the telegraph wires, rode away with the Jerilderie trooper's horses, on which they carried their plunder, leaving the police locked up.

Mr. Devine, who had lived in Perth for about 25 years, acted as racecourse detective for a long time. His widow, who now lives at Victoria Park, was compelled by the Kelly gang to get their meals. It is said that her pleading saved the life of her husband, whom the gang had threatened to shoot because they had heard that he had boasted that they were too frightened to cross the Murray from Victoria.

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'Devine, George Denis (1847–1926)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/devine-george-denis-13577/text24301, accessed 25 May 2018.